That bass is a honey! I was almost a shame that Roger put a pickguard over that top.

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I won't second-guess a master builder like Roger Sadowsky, but this is one of my pet peeves! Pickguards on $2500+ basses.... I can see why they are needed on Fenders, Musicman, and other mass produced instruments..mainly to hide the big gaping routs for the electronics. Rear routing, top loading electronics looks way nicer, IMO.

I won't second-guess a master builder like Roger Sadowsky, but this is one of my pet peeves! Pickguards on $2500+ basses.... I can see why they are needed on Fenders, Musicman, and other mass produced instruments..mainly to hide the big gaping routs for the electronics. Rear routing, top loading electronics looks way nicer, IMO.

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I'm with you I would never put a PG on such a beautiful bass.

But if I was the builder & someone said, "Can you put a PG on the bass for me", I wouldn't say, "No".

I've got essentially the same bass except with a pearloid pick guard and hum canx pups, and I'm kinda digging the pick guard (I bought mine "off the rack," although he did ding me $15 for the pearloid). I like knowing that my fingernails aren't digging into that gorgeous flame top.

I wonder why Hugh is selling it. The live Bon Jovi special they've been showing over here in Korea has him favoring the white PJ; maybe the J fell out of favor? Hmmmm....

[Edit: I meant PJ, not PG. All that PickGuard talk messed with my head. )]

lump, that's the obvious reason for having a pickguard (fingernails digging into wood). At a local store there are several used basses (Ken Smiths, Tobias, Spectors, etc) that were ruined because of the original owner's playing technique.

The other reason is aesthetics...some people just like the way they look. If you look at old Fender Jazzes the pickguard isn't there to hide the routes...it's a pickguard. On the newer Jazzes, where they weren't going to be offered without a pickguard, there was no reason to be concerned about how the routes look. IMO. YMMV.

I kinda feel that with that beautiful flame top that it was a shame to cover it. Most likely if I was ordering a Sadowsky I'd go for just a plain old standard sunburst top with a mint pickguard. That's my favorite Sadowsky. One of these days I'll have one.

I have to jump in here. This is my Sadowsky bass (note the birds-eye board):Nice top, eh? The only problem is that I prefer to have the surface of the body of the bass closer to my fingers for popping/plucking. I can pluck/pop much quicker on a pickguarded Sadowsky or Fender. That is one reason why many folks put pickguards on their maple-topped basses. The pickguard effectivly elevates the the surface of the bass closer to your fingers. I read (maybe rumor) that Stu Hamm has two pickguards on his basses.

I spoke to Roger Sadowsky. He can either put a clear pickguard on the bass or seat the neck deeper into the neck pocket (I guess by shaving down the neck where it bolts on). I'm think I'm opting for the latter.